A few months ago, I tackled a pretty aggressive furniture re-do. While perusing a school and office overflow store, I came upon a huge selection of used lockers. I loved the modern industrial feel the metal lockers had, so I decided to take a stab at refinishing them. You could also leave them the color you find them, but the blue color that mine were already painted definitely did not match anything in my décor. I bought a set of six and headed home with them in my delivery truck. I will attempt to give you a formula to redo your own lockers.

To be honest, I almost nixed this project as it was such a time commitment, but I finally stopped whining, rolled up my sleeves and got to work. I started by giving them a good cleaning with an industrial grade de-greaser as they were caked with grime and grease.. Next, I set them up on sawhorses in the back yard and got to painting. I used spray paint, as this gives you a clean finish with no brush strokes. I started with a layer of clean metal primer – it took 2 coats. After that had dried 24 hours, I went over with my chosen color of antique white (also a spray paint that says for use with metal or wood). This took three coats, as I wanted a nice hard coating to go over the metal. I finished up with a clear matte sealer to protect my surfaces.

Lockers are tricky to refinish as there are so many crevices and panels that have to be painted, but with some attention to detail you are left with a beautiful project that allows for a unique storage option. I painted black numbers with acrylic paint on the front of mine to give it a more industrial look, but anything could be added to the front to match your décor. I love to add unexpected pieces to my home, and I think you will, too. Happy Designing!